HAZARD: Of Lava, Of Ice
by TheGumGumWriter
Summary: Just one year after incurring heavy losses in the bloody War of the Best, the Marines once again find themselves locked in a brutal conflict, this time from within. Kuzan (Admiral Aokiji) finds himself at the center of this storm, locked in a battle of wills with his rival, Sakazuki (Admiral Akainu). At the end of these 10 days, whose Justice will left standing?
1. Lava Exhausts

AN: _This is my take on the events surrounding the Ten Day Admiral Duel on Punk Hazard, through the eyes of Kuzan aka Admiral Aokiji._

Disclaimer: _One Piece and all characters (Except for OCs) belong to Echiro Oda. Props to him for being a badass._

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><p><strong>HAZARD<strong>

_**Of Fire, Of Ice**_

Prologue: Lava Exhausts

The barbarous, splitting pain gnawed away at his lava-slathered thigh, the jarring dolor all that kept the Admiral's blurring consciousness afloat in a roaring sea of onerous fatigue. His left leg had been devoured by the ravenous molten rock, leaving this useless stump in its wake. Assessing his current condition, he sighed, his icy breath freezing the bits of volcanic ash falling around him. _So this is how it ends, huh?_ Another sigh. _An island abandoned after one of Vegapunk's failed science fair projects is gonna be my grave?_ He smiled at the cruel irony. _So uncool_. He'd miss Garp's cookies, Smoker's cigars, and his deep conversations with Sengoku. _Sengoku._ His worn out mind drifted off towards his superior. _Sorry, boss. Your lazy kid picked a really good time to go off and be a stubborn bastard._

The sloshy, bubbly crackle of boiling magma continued to get louder, the menacing stomps of heavy boots making short work of the glacier-like ice blocks. _About time he got here_. As if replying to the Admiral's thought, the lava splattered onto the right side of his neck, right shoulder, and torso began to sizzle mercilessly. He grunted, the smell of burning flesh churning his stomach. _I'm definitely going to feel this later. _He thought even further. Would there even be a 'later'? Probably not, he concluded nonchalantly. In all the years he'd known Sakazuki or 'Akainu', as the Navy had christened him, mercy and compassion had never been his friends, let alone even passing acquaintances. The Admiral braced himself for the worst. Lying on the molten ground, he desperately willed arctic chill to flow out from his inner being, feeling the sensation of seared skin changing into living frigidity. _Might as well go out with some kind of a bang_. He thought.

"Save your breath, Kuzan." A gruff voice barked. With half his body now a chunk of icy glaze, Kuzan made the excruciating effort of turning his neck towards his opponent. Though the arctic covering made his magma seared wounds cooled off, the anguish of feeling the tender burns freeze filled him with nausea. Allowing his vision to steady, he took a look at his adversary. Sakazuki's face was riddled with deep purple bruises, his left eye bruised completely shut. His chest was strewn with scarlet-caked contusions. Frostbite had eaten away at his chest and stomach, chunks of torso unable to retain their magma form. Sakazuki's flower-laced tribal tattoo oozed deep red as the Admiral willed magma to heat up his frozen skin.

"I was wondering when you'd finally finish me, _Sak_." Kuzan quipped hoarsely, fully aware of how much Sakazuki hated being called that. Kuzan's throat was parched; these ten days of uninterrupted elemental struggle had done more than a number on his body.

Akainu scowled in annoyance at the mention of the nickname the rival Admiral had made for him. "It's always playtime for you, isn't it, Kuzan." The overwhelming din of fervently boiling, crackling, sizzling basalt filled the atmosphere, the ashy smoke sticking its pumice stained fingers up the sprawled Admiral's nostrils. Kuzan coughed in response, feeling the malicious aura emanating from his lava-drenched opponent. He let out an icy sigh. _I guess it's my time. How uncool.  
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><p><strong>I don't know what it is with me and heat lately, but my two One Piece fanfics have both started off with characters experiencing extreme burns.<strong>

**Anyways, how'd I do? Are you looking forward to seeing the grueling battle that put Admiral Aokiji in this excruciating agony?**

**Pick up the Den Den Mushi and Read & Review!**

**This will be a short fic so I'm going to try to update this pretty frequently.**

**While you're waiting (Especially if you're a fan of Monkey D. Dragon) check out my Dragons of the Void Century (my much longer project).**

**I'll see you guys later!**


	2. Playing With Justice

AN: _This is my take on the events surrounding the Ten Day Admiral Duel on Punk Hazard, through the eyes of Kuzan aka Admiral Aokiji._

Disclaimer: _One Piece and all characters (Except for OCs) belong to Echiro Oda. Props to him for being a badass._

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><p><strong>HAZARD<strong>

_**Of Fire, Of Ice**_

Chapter One: Playing With Justice

_"I can't get you to reconsider, can I?" Sengoku inquired, his brow furrowed with worry. Kuzan smiled. "Kong's already made it clear. As Fleet Admiral, I have the right to appoint my choice." He took a sip of his tea. "Kong's assured me he'll respect my nomination and back me on whatever I decide. There's no need for you to go through with this."_

_Kuzan sighed. "I know, boss." He paused before replying. Taking his time had always been the Admiral's style. But now, it was hard even for him to sit still. "Do you think Sakazuki's supporters will let this go?"_

_"I can deal with them." Sengoku insisted._

_"Boss, excuse me for being a little bold, but can you really deal with what'll happen to the Navy if Kong pushes through with my appointment? I've heard rumors." Kuzan yawned lazily, stretching his arms out over his head. "While Akainu's subordinates think he's out of his mind and wouldn't touch his magma craziness with a three foot pole, he's got a large group of higher ranking officers lobbying for him, many of them just as crazy as he is. Doberman, Strawberry, and Onigumo's voices carry a lot of weight with the other marines. You ready to deal with that big of a rift?"_

_Sengoku scowled. "Damn it to hell!" He pounded a fist on the table. Kuzan sat up in his chair. Sengoku, who normally frowned upon such outbursts, was visibly upset. "I spent years of my time with the Navy getting my hands dirty with the World Government's politics and being their dog, only to lose some amazing men and women to Whitebeard's tremors at Marineford. I'm tired, Kuzan. I don't have the stomach for this nonsense anymore. I'm tired of feeling like the enemy is in the office next door these days." Sengoku's face was charged with lividity. "To see some of my best marines, men I remember seeing as lowly, wide-eyed recruits, watching their rise through the ranks with eager pride, to see them connive and maneuver behind the scenes," he took a long sip of tea. "It sickens me."_

_Kuzan listened patiently. Fleet Admiral Sengoku was one of three men - the other two being Garp and Zephyr, who'd inspired him in his life as a marine. Long before he'd taken on the name Aokiji, after Garp couldn't stop blabbering about a bright new marine he'd taken under his wing, Sengoku had taken an interest in him, letting Garp bring him along to their meetings and talking to him plainly about the concept of justice. Sengoku had done a great deal towards helping him find his bearings in the Navy as fledgling lieutenant and if he needed Kuzan to listen to his frustrations, the Admiral wasn't about to complain. _

_After letting his mentor wind down to an exasperated silence, Kuzan spoke. "You know me, boss. I'm not one to grab after power. To be honest, I love nothing more than taking a vacation on a tropical island, off the grid." He joked casually. Sengoku shook his head, smiling in spite of himself. Kuzan continued, his face and tone more solemn. "But you know as well as I do. If Sakazuki becomes Fleet Admiral, innocent civilians will die. Women and children? Psh." Kuzan gestured matter of factly. "You think he cares? We all know he doesn't. Sometimes I wonder if his 'Thorough Justice' is just an excuse for him to melt down pirates who've made the mistake of barking up his tree more than he could stand. The man is nuts. Definitely a few screws loose." _

_Sengoku was quiet, listening to his subordinate. As frustrating as it was, he couldn't really disagree. He knew full well Kuzan spoke the truth. Sengoku palmed his face in pensive resignation. Times like these made him realize Garp had not been foolish to skirt every promotion that'd been thrown his way. Sengoku often felt crushed by his position, forced stand helpless in the face of one bleak, morbidly inescapable truth:**the rigid institutions of the World Government and its 'Absolute Justice' killed more marines than the blades, cannons, or powers of any pirate. Plain and simple. **_

_"Don't worry about me, boss." Kuzan smilingly reassured, trying to lighten the mood. "I'll have a good chat with Sak, tell him to **chill out**," Sengoku rolled his eyes at his subordinates terrible pun, "and I'll be back at HQ right after. I don't really like how being Fleet Admiral'll cut into my naptime, but I definitely can't have that meathead in charge, either."_

_Sengoku sighed. Taking his subordinate's hand in a firm handshake, he choked back the streams trying to flow from his eyes. "Kuzan." He declared firmly. "I'm so proud of the man you've become."_

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><p>A knock on the door woke the Admiral from his dozing recollection. "We're almost there, sir." A young lieutenant commander informed. The Admiral yawningly thanked the recruit and headed to the deck.<p>

The island was only a few miles in the distance. The rotund land mass, barren since the Vegapunk-Clown fiasco a few years prior towered in the horizon. "Punk. Hazard." Kuzan spoke, letting the name of the island rest on his tongue. _This is where this show stars._ He leaned forward on the railing, watching the lights of the starry summer sky shimmer on the rhythmically undulating sea. He smiled.

_Don't drink all the beers, Sak._

_I'm bringing lots of ice._

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><p><strong>The ferocious Ten Day Duel is about to start!<strong>

**Next chapter, we jump right into the battle!**

**While you're waiting for me to update (Especially if you're a fan of Monkey D. Dragon) check out my Dragons of the Void Century (my much longer project).**

**I'd love to hear your thoughts!**

**Pick up the Den Den Mushi!**

**Read and Review!**


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